Starting School

Starting school is a new and exciting time and can often be a little daunting for both the parents and the children. It is therefore important that we work together to get it right for you and your child.

Once you have been offered a place at our school you will receive a letter detailing a number of opportunities to become familiar with the school. Children are invited to a couple of taster sessions in their new classroom to get to know their new teacher and classmates.

Every year the school holds an evening information session for parents. At this meeting, usually held in July, parents have the opportunity to meet each other and hear our vision for learning and development in the early years. There will be plenty of information regarding the school that directly relates to new parents and children. There will be information about the day to day running of Trinity and also further discussions about the starting arrangements for the children. We are proud of the family ethos at Trinity and invite you to take a full part in it.

Before your child begins school we offer the opportunity of a home visit. This is an invaluable experience for staff, parents and children. Hopefully, your initial questions will be answered, but it does give you the opportunity to ask any further questions. It also gives the class teacher a chance to get to know your child in the safety and comfort of their own home and the children will have the chance to meet and interact with their new teacher on a one-to-one basis. This ’putting a face to a name’ is very worthwhile and is part of our annual admissions process.

During the second and third week of the Autumn term, Reception children will come into school on a gradual basis, building up to every morning. This allows the children to settle in a slightly smaller group. School is more demanding for children than pre-school and you may be surprised how tired they are at the end of a morning. After these two weeks, children will attend every morning from 8.45 until 12.15am and you will be able to choose whether your child starts attending in the afternoons, straight away, or wait until after half term or January for your child to stay full time at school. We always stagger the children’s starting dates to ensure that we help them settle. This will be discussed in more detail at the New Parents Meeting, once you have been allocated a place for your child at Trinity.